Student Projects







Honors Economics Project: Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes
Adam-Smith-Karl-Marx-John-Maynard-Keynes-Portraits.png


In this project, the student will construct a 30-slide keynote presentation explaining and comparing the respective economic theories of Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes.

In the presentation, each presentation must contain, at a minimum, the following information:

  • Brief biographical sketch of each economic thinker
  • Identify the major writings of Smith, Marx, and Keynes
  • In-depth description of each man's basic ideas
  • Compare and contrast the economic system each man developed
  • Use both images and text

This project is for 1st and 3rd Blocks, Fall 2015



Evolution of Jihadist Warfare and Terrorism, 2014-2015

Instructions: Each student will create a 25 slide keynote presentation chronicling the story of Jihadist warfare from January 3, 2014 to the present. In this project, the student will use images and text to tell the story of Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria, plus Boko Haram in Nigeria. Students should also provide coverage of the Charlie Hebdo Massacre in France (January 7, 2015 to Present).

The links below will provide each student with an abundance of material, particularly material on the rise of ISIS, plus the Charlie Hebdo Massacre. There is less material on Boko Haram in the links below, so students will need to do some independent research. Also, you may include other Jihadist-related stories in 2014-2015 that were not referred to above.

Keep in mind that this project involves an understanding of intense religious belief, plus the reality of human violence and death. Please be tasteful in your work, but also be accurate, honest, and direct.

Lastly, at the end of your project, give your opinion as to how the United States government should respond (or not respond) to these problems.

You will have several days to work on this. I have not set a due date yet. You will turn in your project to me electronically, preferably be email.


Chronicle of 2014, Part I

Chronicle of 2014, Part II

Chronicle of 2014, Part III

Chronicle of January 2015





The American Story From 2008 to Early 2015
Instructions: Each student will create two Keynote presentations chronicling the American story from 2008 through the early months of 2015. Each Keynote presentation should be 25 slides in length. Please do not include audio or video.

Your first Keynote should cover the years 2008 up to May 1, 2011 (The Killing of Osama Bin Laden). Your second Keynote should begin in the summer of 2011 and continue through the early months of 2015 (If you like, you could end with Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, 2015).

In terms of subject matter, your focus should be on the United States, particularly political and governmental events. Definitely cover the presidential elections of 2008 and 2012. Definitely cover the economic crash of 2008.

While the United States should be your focus, you should bring in events outside the United States when you determine that such international events were particularly relevant to the United States.

Have some fun with this. Be creative. You can cover music, culture, entertainment, and sports as well. But make it balanced in terms of subject matter.

Keep this in mind: This is a government class, so political events should play a prominent role in your story-telling.

Use the lengths below as you see fit:

Chronicle of the Years 2000-2009

Chronicle of the Years 2010-2013

2014, Part 1

2014, Part 2

2014, Part 3

2015, January

2015, February



Congress, the Presidency, and How a Bill Becomes a Law
Like the last project, this assignment will involve two parts. The first part of your assignment will be to create a 20-slide (or more) presentation on Congress and the Presidency. USE BOTH PICTURES AND TEXT! Oh yeah…you can use charts and graphs as well.

In Part I, your slide presentation should include information on the following:

  • The Bicameral Nature of the Congress (House of Representatives and Senate)
  • How seats in the House of Representatives are Apportioned
  • The Speaker of the House
  • Qualifications to be a member of the House of Representatives
  • How seats in the U.S. Senate are apportioned
  • Qualifications to be a member of the U.S. Senate
  • The Role of the 17th Amendment in the elections of the U.S. Senate
  • What are some of the powers of the U.S. Congress?
  • In the most basic sense, what does Congress do?
  • What are the Constitutional powers of the President of the United States?
  • What are the qualifications to be President of the United States?
  • What do Congress and the President do together?
  • How can a President be removed from office?
  • Who is the current President of the United States?
  • Who is the current Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives?
  • Who is the current Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate?
  • Who is the current President of the U.S. Senate?

In Part II, explain the steps that are taken in passing a bill into law. Explain it step-by-step. Part II should be 20 slides, or more. In your presentation, include information on the following:

  • What is a bill?
  • What is a reading of a bill?
  • In order to a bill to be passed out of Congress, what must the House and Senate each do?
  • What is a Congressional committee?
  • What does a Congressional committee do?
  • What things can a committee do to a bill?
  • To pass either the House or the Senate, what kind of vote is needed? (Basically, what is a majority vote?)
  • In the Senate, what is a filibuster?
  • What is a Presidential veto?
  • What is a Pocket Veto?
  • How can Congress override a presidential veto?


Use the keynote presentations below to help you get started. But do some research of your own!


















Economics Project:Basics Economics and the Joy of Pessimism
In this project, the student will create a 25-slide keynote presentation surveying introductory principles of the academic discipline of economics. The keynote presentation should include the following:

  • What is a good working definition of economics?
  • What is the concept of scarcity?
  • In economics, what is the relationship between wants and dissatisfaction?
  • Do human beings ever conquer scarcity and dissatisfaction?
  • In what song do the Rolling Stones capture the problem of scarcity?
  • In a sense, human beings are doomed to a life of what?
  • What is wealth?
  • Why is money not the same thing as wealth?
  • Why is it true that all people die in a state of poverty?
  • What is the concept of cost?
  • What is the concept of opportunity cost?
  • Why is there no such thing as a free lunch?
  • What are the factors of production?
  • What are some examples of factors of production in our world?
  • How do the "Three Basic Questions of Economics" play out in our world?
  • What is utility?
  • What is value?
  • What is price?
  • Explain the paradox of value
  • Why is it valid to say that economics is the "dismal science?"
  • Why would Eeyore probably like economics?

Use both text and images in your presentation!

Arthur-Schopenhauer-Philosopher-and-Pessimist.jpgLarry-David-Curb-Your-Enthusiasm.jpgEeyore.jpgThe-Rolling-Stones-black-and-white-photo.jpg
Above: Arthur Schopenhauer, 19th century philosopher and pessimist; Larry David, creator of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, infamous curmudgeon and pessimist; Eeyore, notorious pessimist; The Rolling Stones, a rock-and-roll band famous for many a pessimistic song



Economics Project:Stock Market Basics

Part I Instructions: Students will create a 25-slide keynote presentation explaining basic principles concerning corporations and the stock market. Student keynotes should answer the following questions:

  • What is a corporation?
  • What is a proprietorship, as compared to a corporation?
  • Why might a business creator prefer to have his/her business in the form of a corporation? (Hint: the need to raise large amounts of capital, and limited liability)
  • What is a share of stock?
  • What is a dividend?
  • What is a shareholder?
  • In terms of being a shareholder, what's the advantage of limited liability?
  • What is an IPO (Initial Public Offering)?
  • What is a stock market?
  • What is a stock market symbol for a corporation? (Give some examples of well-known companies)
  • What are the two major ways in which a shareholder can make money from investing in stocks? (Hint: Dividends and Speculation)
  • In terms of investing in stocks, what is speculation? (Hint: Buying low and selling high)
  • What does a stock broker do?
  • What is a Bull Market?
  • What is a Bear Market?
  • What is the Dow Jones Industrial Average?











The First 102 Days of 2015
This project is to be completed by Thursday, April 16, 2015. It will count as a test grade.

Basically, this assignment is a current events assignment. Each student is to create a 25-slide presentation identifying and explaining the highlights of the first 102 days (January 1st through April 12th) of the year 2015. You have a great deal of latitude in this presentation. Feel free to use chronicle that I've been compiling since the beginning of the year. The links are below:

January 2015

February 2015

March 2015

April 2015

You do NOT have to use only the information that i have provided. To put it another way, feel free to use information that you find online that meets the criteria for this assignment.

In terms of identifying the highlights of the first 102 days of 2015, make sure that you include events pertaining to economics (e.g. jobs, stock market), politics, and world events.

But feel free to include information about cultural events such as sports and entertainment. In short, have some fun with the assignment. This is your senior year in high school, and one of the goals of the assignment is to give you a better familiarity with major events of the year (up to this point) in which you graduated high school.








1st Block, Spring Semester, 2015


Trent Brown

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Shavon Crooks

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015





Tavon Crooks









Dustin DeVan

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015














Billy Dumas

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Brandon Emmons

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Lauren Fenner




Makalia Finklea

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015













Malik Gaines

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Kristen Gilbreath

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015





April Godwin

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015





Kiarim Henry

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015



Anthony Hopkins










Dustin Langham

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015









Dillion Odom

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015





Caroline Oestriecher

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015











Breanna Paul

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015









Darrel Robinson

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Tiara Rostchild

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015













J.T. Salter

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Blaine Shiver

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015





Willie Stoudmire

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015





Tammy Jo Thompson

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015









Jacob Vernon

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Briana Washington













Norman Washington

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015





Karley Wilson

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015













Matthew Wilson




















2nd Block, Spring Semester, 2015


Robert Andreoli

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015




John Banning



Tabatha Black

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015













Jessica Bradley

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015









Christopher Brock

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Chrissy Crutchfield

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015













Jennieceia Cunningham

Jihadist Warfare, Part I, 2014-2015

Jihadist Warfare, Part II, 2014-2015











Brett Daniel

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015





Brian Earls

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015





Lance Edwards

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015










Chynna Finch

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Austin Garner

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Kadavia Green

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015









Amy Jeffers

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015

The American Story, 2008 to Early 2015, Part I

The American Story, 2008 to Early 2015, Part II









Rebecca Lankford

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015













Elizabeth Long

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015













Matthew McClain




Donald Newton

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Savannah Nichols

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015









Laura Owen

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015













Sara Peacock

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015













Bethany Presley

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015














Erin Rider

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015













Maraina Ridlehoover

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Madeline Sellers

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015












Cory Steadham

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015





Will Steele

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015













Megan Tolbert

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015











Olivia Turner

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015





Mallory Wallace

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015













Mason Waters

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015













DiAnton White

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015





Payt Zarr

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Jennifer Zavala

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015














4th Block, Spring Semester, 2015


LaQuinton Anderson

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Melquan Ankum

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Devin Atkinson

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Jessica Berryman

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Austin Bruneau

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015



Renn Bryars

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015



Mattye Crowder

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015













Chaynce Eady

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015



Precious Grace

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015



MicTavious Green

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015



Keenan Henry

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015







Logan Koseicki







Reece Marx

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015



James McMillan

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015





Rondale Salter







Haleigh Snow

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015








Marquinton Snowden

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015



Emily Thompson

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015








Tondaliayh Tunstall



Carley White

Jihadist Warfare, 2014-2015